▣ Title : Biomedical Applications of Atmospheric

pressure plasma : Wound & Cancer

▣ Speaker

: Jennifer

H. Shin (KAIST)

▣ Date

& Time : Friday, September 19(2:00

~ 3:30pm)

▣ Place

: LG Research Building, Room #101

▣ Host

: Prof. Jae Koo Lee (T.2083)

▣Abstract :

Atmospheric

pressure plasma (APP) treatment has gained much attention in biomedical

applications due to its selective killing or activation of certain cell types.

While the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown, APP is being actively

tested at both cellular and animal models for its potential uses in cancer

treatment and wound care. In this seminar, I will introduce our studies on the

comparison of cancer to normal cells from liver (SK HEP-1 vs. THLE-2) and from

mammary gland (MDA-MB-231 vs. MCF-10A) to investigate the plausible existence

of inherent cancer specific characteristics that may lead to easier removal of

cancer cells upon plasma treatment. However, the effect of APP on the

neighboring cells near the cancer remains unknown. Tumor is structurally very

complex, made of many different cell types. In tumor progression, two very

important processes occur, namely epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and

angiogenesis. For the efficacy of APP for the cancer treatment, its effects on

other cell types must be investigated. For example, it would be ideal if APP

could suppress both EMT and angiogenesis to minimize the potential for

metastasis. In this study, we applied APP on fibroblasts and human aortic

endothelial cells (HAECs) in a moderate plasma condition, and observed their

responses in the context of their potential usage in anti-cancer treatment. In

addition, we made novel findings regarding the induction of dramatic changes in

the cellular phenotypes of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) caused by

non-thermal helium jet plasma. Interestingly, APP induces a MET (mesenchymal to

epithelial transition)-like response in HDFs where mesenchymal fibroblasts

transform into cells with epithelial characteristics in terms of both

morphology and gene/protein expression. Moreover, the plasma treated cells

feature down-regulation of fibrosis related genes, which supports the potential

use of APP to treat the wounds to promote healing and suppress fibrosis.